This course is part of the Zoos, Museums, and Arts Academy

Below are a set of links to building type studies from Architectural Record, which are in-depth analyses of particular kinds of buildings, with photos, drawings, specifications, detailed descriptions, and design solutions. Click on each link below, read the article then complete the quiz to earn your credit and certificate of completion.

It can often be a challenge for designers to balance old and new, existing designs with modern approaches. With museums, there must often be consideration for historical works and events and their display in a contemporary context. These projects show several approaches taken by architects and designers to meld old and new.

Steven Holl Architects’ Game-Changing New Arts Building for Virginia Commonwealth University
The Markel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Richmond connects the modern university to the historic surroundings and makes a statement, with two colliding volumes that torque as they rise.
Beth Broome

Magazzino Italian Art by Miguel Quismondo
Old is connected to new at Magazzino gallery, whose existing building was connected to the new concrete structure, which features a high ceiling and a glass-paneled roof, by two fully-glazed corridors.
Alex Klimoski

Center for Civil and Human Rights Opens Its Doors to Atlanta
Designed for LEED Gold certification, the Center is set into a hillside facing Atlanta's Pemberton Place, a pedestrian park.
Gray Chapman

Glenstone Museum by Thomas Phifer and Partners
The Glenstone Museum’s goal was all-natural lighting for this quiet space just 15 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. The museum encourages visitors to lose themselves in an extraordinary melding of landscape, architecture, and art.
Cathleen McGuigan

Photo © Albert Vecerka/Esto

Center for Civil and Human Rights opens its doors to Atlanta